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Color Hierarchy

Primary colors: denote a sense of urgency. Placing them next to each other, evokes a feeling of speed.

Warm Colors: Red, Orange, Yellow evoke the feeling of warmth. They remind us of fire and sun. Culturally they evoke urgency, danger, and style. If your web design is communicating conflict, love, speed or desire, red would be a color to include.

Cool Colors: Blue, green, purple. They evoke serene, cool feelings. They remind us of water and grass. "Culturally, cool colors evoke trust, loyalty, cleanliness, order. Blues and greens are often used for banking and financial institutions. Green is used for sites about nature. Purple, on the other hand, evokes nobility, wisdom and spirituality.

Neutrals: Grays and browns. They can evoke feelings of austerity, establishment and history. Unsaturated neutrals can feel utilitarian. Avoid them as background colors

Cultural cautions

The web is an international place. Using color to help convey meaning must be approached with caution. There are many instances of colors evoking the opposite emotion in other cultures then the emotion intended. You should be aware of these before starting your design if you expect an international audience.

White: Western cultures associate this with purity, often used in weddings. Many Asian cultures associate this with death *

Green: China associates this color with an unfaithful wife.*

Blue: is the color of mourning in Islam. *

* information comes from the website About.com

This site was last updated: Thursday, 17-Apr-2008 15:13:54 PDT